Page 11 - The Arts Trust Souza The Centennial

than the end of it. The liberation from the During this phase, Souza’s inclination
shackles of academic conformity propelled towards Marxist ideology also led him
him towards artistic experimentation and to join the Communist Party of India.
socio-political critique through his art. However, true to his nature, he rebelled
Funnelling his indignation as fodder for against the members telling him to paint
creativity, Souza began to paint feverishly in ways they wanted. Talking about this
right from the day of his expulsion. Vividly another brief chapter of his life and why
recounting the day in his biography, he he quit the Communist Party, Souza wrote:
wrote: “I marched home indignantly and “I don’t believe that a true artist paints for
started furiously painting in oils with a coteries or for the proletariat. I believe
palette knife on a large piece of plywood. with all my soul that he paints solely for
I painted an azure nude with a still life and himself.” While he had moved on, his works
landscape in the background. I finished the during this period, such as The Indian
painting in an hour of white heat. I titled it Family, Family, and Men In Boats reflect a
‘The Blue Lady’ and exhibited it in my first strong sense of social realism, portraying
one-man show in December 1945.” the struggles of the country’s impoverished
He also returned to his native Goa working class.
for a few months and found solace and Marking a pivotal moment in the
inspiration amidst the rustic landscapes. evolution of modern Indian art, Family
Living in an old weather-beaten house, depicts an impoverished family of four
he captured the essence of rural life with
intense brushstrokes depicting peasants
engaged in various activities, from toiling
in fields to partaking in religious rituals.
Souza’s Catholic upbringing was a
consistent source of thematic inspiration. Souza was also a prolific
While his paintings took on more radical writer. His autobiography,
imagery, his early works exemplified Words & Lines, was
his fondness for primary colours, which crisp and eloquent, while
rendered his canvases with almost primal his essay ‘Nirvana of a
qualities that evoked a haunting effect, as Maggot’ in Encounter
seen in a Christ and Golgotha in Goa, both and article in The
painted in 1948. Illustrated Weekly of India
In Golgotha in Goa, Souza draws became widely read
inspiration from the altar at the Church of
the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, believed
to be the site of the crucifixion. He emulates
its structure and imagery, showcasing his having a meagre meal on the floor of he also underscores their faith. This
powerful impasto technique. His bold, their hut, with them holding tiny cups portrayal of the living conditions laid the
sweeping, expressionistic brushstrokes and surrounded by empty vessels. This groundwork for Souza’s later critiques of
create texture and push forms to the brink work, slightly less stylised than the work religious hypocrisy and social hierarchies,
of abstraction. Bright colour blocks emerge The Indian Family, painted a year later, which defined his acclaimed works of the
from deep recesses, creating a mosaic-like also stands out for its explicit references 1950s and 60s.
effect similar to soldered cement joining to Catholicism, evident in the oversized On the other hand, what makes Men in
glass panes. This style, reminiscent of cross the woman wears on a rosary and Boats so captivating is Souza’s portrayal
cloisonnism, evokes the feel of traditional the household shrine with the Madonna of the working man not as a downtrodden
stained glass, akin to the churches in Goa— Maqbool Fida Husain’s ‘Portrait of Souza’, an oil on and Child hanging on the wall. While Souza victim but as an inspiring romantic hero.
then a Portuguese colony with Catholicism canvas (34.3 x 28.7 in) painted in 1946, presents a emphasises their poverty, sustained by In this piece, Souza highlights the stark
as the dominant religion. different side of Souza at work indebtedness to the wealthy and powerful, contrast between urban and rural India.

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